The Youth Corps of America Fundraising Appeal
Winner of the 2009 Teddy Award for community service. . .
Dear neighbors,
If I sound dramatic, it’s because for the first time in over 25 years of helping vulnerable kids, I’m really scared.
Maybe it’s the economy. . . maybe it’s the times. But gang recruitment is at an all-time high, just when funding has largely evaporated for programs like mine that work.
I have to be honest with you, I’m concerned that the progress we’ve made in the past few years could be wiped out as program after program gets stalled or scrapped because no funding is available.
It’s a misperception that kids join gangs out of some flaw in their characters, or because they want to. They don’t. It’s just that in tough, unsafe neighborhoods, many of them see no way out. That’s the way it starts.
But make no mistake about it, any time a good kid goes bad, it affects us all.
If you’re like me, you expect Tucson to be a great place to live a year from now, five years from now. But the truth is, the future of one more American city is up for grabs. And this time it’s our city.
Consider this: In 2008, Tucson was ranked 18th as a “most dangerous city,” not far behind much bigger urban areas like Detroit, Pittsburgh and Chicago. Maybe you’d expect it of them—not us!
Many of the crimes considered in this ranking are high-gang-related activities such as car theft, burglary and home break-ins. But gangs are also responsible for as much as half—half!—of violent crime in Tucson.
Right now, today, more than 4,300 known gang members (update statistics), representing over 65 gangs, wander the streets of Tucson with nothing better to do than cause trouble for the entire community.
I’m sure you’ll agree, we have a problem—a big one. Gangs in Tucson are growing way too fast, faster than in many American cities. The key is in
understanding that inside every single gang member is a kid who once had a big decision to make. And that is the exact point where intervention is crucial.
You can help me meet this challenge head on by supporting the proven programs I’m going to tell you about.
I’m Chris Valdez, founder of The Youth Corps of America. In the 23 years I’ve been working with at-risk youth, we’ve given hundreds of kids an alternative to gang activity through something they all understand. . . . fighting.
Properly taught, boxing and martial arts are the way to inner strength and the way out of violence and crime. Our program does exactly that.
But first, let me tell you a story:
The boy’s name was Brian, but it could just as easily have been Briana—recruiters target girls too.
A sensitive kid who loved gazing at the stars, Brian was terrified of the kids in his neighborhood; they were tough, mean and on drugs. Most of them belonged to gangs. His mom warned him to stay away from kids like that, and promised to move into a better area as soon as she could find a second job.
But he knew that was no good—then she’d never be home at all. And even if he and his mom eventually moved, what was Brian supposed to do in the meantime? Just wander around in the heat all summer with no one to talk to?
Then what Brian feared most happened: An older kid twice his size cornered him near the dumpster out back, and, with a knife in his ribs, invited him to join a gang. The decision wasn’t hard to make: he could go on being afraid, maybe get beaten up or even killed, OR he could just say yes to the gang and become one of them.
So at just thirteen years old he was initiated into the Bloods, and for a while he felt safe. The problem was, because he was underage and less likely to go to jail, his new brothers expected him to commit the crimes. Mostly for money or drugs, but sometimes it was more than that.
One day, with a gun supplied by fellow Bloods, he shot a man. He hadn’t meant to do it—all he wanted was to survive until something changed at home. Of course, it never did.
In just a few short years, a once-normal kid was turned into a criminal with little hope of adding a single positive thing to society, or realizing even one of his early dreams. One more wasted life, in a beautiful city often blind to gang violence.
These kids are not bad to begin with, but too often that’s how they end up. Unless, that is, they find help from our own community—you and me.
I left law enforcement to found The Youth Corps of America (TYCoA). I had seen it all first hand, how gangs could ruin lives—theirs and ours—and I knew I had to do something.
At TYCoA we teach kids from Tucson and the surrounding areas techniques to defend themselves through boxing and martial arts, but they also learn that the way of the warrior is peaceful, serene and humble.
And, you know what? Kids who know how to fight frequently don’t have to! How’s that for irony?
But TYCoA is a lot more than boxing and martial arts. That’s what makes our program unique—for kids and for Tucson.
We also give kids a chance to learn new values by introducing them to nature through wilderness outings. Kids who develop respect for nature are more grounded; they are rarely the ones stealing and beating up other kids. It’s good for them and good for the community.
And we enlist kids in writing, producing and acting in Public Service announcements that are shown on TV. They learn to see the city’s problems from another point of view, while realizing that they belong to the same community the rest of us do.
Perhaps most important, we provide kids a safe haven for weekends and after school at a variety of locations in Tucson, and most are on bus lines, so showing up is easy.
With us you won’t find a fancy state-of-the art gym, but you will find mats, heavy kick bags and a boxing ring—and you’ll find kids in gi uniforms and earned belts working their hearts out to turn their lives around or to keep them on track. And you’ll find me or one of my associates every single day, acting not only as teacher but also as friend and mentor.
In short, I have a plan to save these kids and to save our community from gangs.
I already know it works. I know it works because of what I don’t see. Mostly I don’t see these kids’ names in the newspaper or on the nightly news when they get busted. I don’t see their pictures in the obituary columns. And, I know it works because our “graduates” come back and tell us so.
But these programs, offered free to at-risk youth, need funding to keep going. TYCoA desperately needs your help. Especially now, when more glamorous programs often get funding before we do.
Here are some answers to your questions:
Don’t my taxes pay for this kind of thing? Very little. You’ll be amazed to learn that the amount of tax dollars devoted to steering kids away from crime is only a tiny fraction of what we spend to incarcerate them. And that cost goes on and on and on.
Can’t we just Lock ‘em all up? There is neither enough police nor jail space to get all these kids off the streets. And it wouldn’t work anyway. Why? Because the gangs in Tucson are multi-generational. That is, older kids coming back from prison influence the younger kids. So, the average age dips lower every year.
If we could just seal our borders, the gang problem would go away. Not so. Gang recruits are vulnerable kids of all races, most here in the U.S. legally, who have the bad luck of living in a poor neighborhood or having the wrong friends and relatives.
Why should I care about a bunch of juvenile delinquents? Most kids do not want to join gangs. At least, not in the beginning. They do it because they see no other choice. The story of Brian replays itself thousands of times a day in cities across America, including Tucson.
If you’re like me, you want to live in a city you can be proud of. Even for those who live in safe, clean gated communities, the grime and crime of Tucson affects us all.
It affects us when we go downtown to the theatre and wonder if our car is going to be safe on the street. It affects us when our neighbor’s home is broken into and we find ourselves installing yet another lock.
It’s not just their problem; it’s ours too.
I’m asking you to take a minute to make a donation to The Youth Corps of America. Your help will allow us to keep doing what we’re doing, and even to expand our services to include more kids and neighborhoods.
We are a registered non-profit organization, so your donation is completely tax deductible, and every penny of it stays right here in Tucson. It does not go to some invisible parent organization you’ve never heard of.
Your dollars will help us do all of this:
Please don’t wait. Somewhere, right now in Tucson, another child is cowering behind a dumpster about to make the biggest decision of his or her life—to join a gang or not. You and I can provide an alternative.
Please fill out the attached coupon right now and help stop this alarming trend in Tucson. Your gift of $35, $50, $100 or more will keep The Youth Corps of America working for our city.
Thank-you for your concern and for your generous contribution.
Christopher Valdez,
7th Degree Black Belt, Kajukenbo
CEO and founder of The Youth Corps of America
P.S. Next time you read in the paper that a gang member has broken into a home or shot someone, you won’t have to ask, Why doesn’t someone do something? You will know that you are doing something that works. Send your donation today.
For the Youth Corps of America Yes, Chris, I support your urgent action to give Tucson area kids an alternative to gangs by providing a safe haven as well as activities that shape who they are and how they live their lives. I am enclosing my check for:
$25 $35 $50 $100 $500 Other $_______
Please clip and return this coupon in the envelope provided. Remember it’s postage paid and completely tax deductible.
*Corporate sponsors donating $100 or more will receive a certificate suitable for framing.
An important note: You’ll notice that The Youth Corps of America runs a no-frills fundraising campaign. No fancy envelopes, no premiums to get you to donate, and no fees going out to credit card companies. That’s how we help the greatest possible number of vulnerable kids in the Tucson area. That’s why your check is so important to us—it’s the only way for you to help us help kids.
Please make checks payable to The Youth Corps of America at (address?)
